Systems and methods for providing enhanced voicemail services

• US 8,489,074 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2009
• Issued: 07/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sigmund, William Joseph, Zubas, Michael Robert, Rainer, Brian Keith
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo, Chuong A
• Application Number:
  US12/477,971
• Publication Number:
  US 20090239507A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,503 Days
• Field of Search: 455/413, 455/412.1, 455/403, 379/67.1, 379/88.22, 379/88.23, 379/88.25, 379/88.26
• US Class Current: 455/413
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/50 Telephonic communication in combination with video communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4518 Attachments to voicemail messages including annexed information, e.g. Attachments, in packet switching networks H04L51/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4545 Message forwarding selective message forwarding in packet switching networks H04L51/214
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/02 Calling substations, e.g. by ringing selective calling H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42017 Customized ring-back tones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42051 where the notification is included in the ringing tone
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/533 Voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53325 Interconnection arrangements between voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53383 Message registering commands or announcements; Greetings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/537 Arrangements for indicating the presence of a recorded message , whereby the presence information might include a preview or summary of the message
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/068 using credential vaults, e.g. password manager applications or one time password [OTP] applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/16 Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold

Abstract

A method for operating a mobile device to set a voicemail greeting includes providing the mobile device with a memory for storing a visual voicemail (VVM) application, an I/O interface, and a microphone for receiving an audio input. The method further includes: receiving a selection for an option to record the voicemail greeting, receiving the audio input, recording the audio input as the voicemail greeting for a voicemail account associated with the mobile device, storing the recorded voicemail greeting in the memory, and generating a request that includes the recorded voicemail greeting, a network address for a VVM system, and instructions to set the voicemail greeting as an active voicemail greeting for the voicemail account. The method further includes transmitting the request to the VVM system and receiving a response from the VVM system that includes an indication of whether the voicemail greeting was set as the active voicemail greeting.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving a notification message from a visual voicemail system, the notification message comprising a security token for use by a mobile device to establish a secure data channel over which to provide a voicemail greeting to the visual voicemail system;

receiving a user input to initiate recording of the voicemail greeting;

receiving an audio input;

recording the audio input as the voicemail greeting for a voicemail account associated with the mobile device;

storing the recorded voicemail greeting at the mobile device;

generating, in response to the voicemail greeting being stored at the mobile device, a request comprising the recorded voicemail greeting, a network address for the visual voicemail system, and instructions to set the voicemail greeting as an active voicemail greeting for the voicemail account;

establishing the secure data channel to the visual voicemail system using the security token;

transmitting, over the secure data channel, the request from the mobile device to the visual voicemail system using the network address; and

receiving a response to the request from the visual voicemail system, the response comprising an indication of whether the voicemail greeting was set as the active voicemail greeting.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein generating the request comprises generating a “

ChangeGreeting”

Hypertext Transfer Protocol request comprising the recorded voicemail greeting in a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions message body, the network address for the visual voicemail system, and the instructions to set the voicemail greeting as the active voicemail greeting for the voicemail account.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the notification message further comprises a hostname and a port number for the visual voicemail system.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein recording the audio input as the voicemail greeting for the voicemail account associated with the mobile device comprises recording the audio input as a default voicemail greeting for the voicemail account associated with the mobile device.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein recording the audio input as the voicemail greeting for the voicemail account associated with the mobile device comprises recording the audio input as a contact-specific voicemail greeting for the voicemail account associated with the mobile device.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein:

the user input is a first user input; and

the method further comprises receiving a second user input to change the active voicemail greeting to a prerecorded voicemail greeting.

7. A mobile device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory, in communication with the processor, the memory having stored thereon a visual voicemail application that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising

receiving a notification message from a visual voicemail system, the notification message comprising a security token for use by a mobile device to establish a secure data channel over which to provide a voicemail greeting to the visual voicemail system,

receiving a user input to initiate recording of a voicemail greeting,

receiving an audio input,

recording the audio input as the voicemail greeting for a voicemail account associated with the mobile device,

storing the recorded voicemail greeting in the memory,

generating a request, in response to the voicemail greeting being stored, the request comprising the recorded voicemail greeting, a network address for the visual voicemail system, and instructions to set the voicemail greeting as an active voicemail greeting for the voicemail account,

establishing the secure data channel to the visual voicemail system using the security token,

transmitting, over the secure data channel, the request to the visual voicemail system using the network address, and

receiving a response to the request from the visual voicemail system, the response comprising an indication of whether the voicemail greeting was set as the active voicemail greeting.

8. The mobile device of claim 7, wherein the visual voicemail application, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to generate generates a “

ChangeGreeting”

Hypertext Transfer Protocol request comprising the recorded voicemail greeting in a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions message body, the network address for the visual voicemail system, and instructions to set the voicemail greeting as the active voicemail greeting for the voicemail account.

9. The mobile device of claim 7, wherein the notification message further comprises a hostname and a port number for the visual voicemail system.

10. The mobile device of claim 7, wherein the visual voicemail application, in causing the processor to record the audio input, causes the processor to record the audio input as a default voicemail greeting for the voicemail account associated with the mobile device.

11. The mobile device of claim 7, wherein the visual voicemail application, in causing the processor to record the audio input, causes the processor to record the audio input as a contact-specific voicemail greeting for the voicemail account associated with the mobile device.

12. A visual voicemail system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory, in communication with the processor, the memory having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

generating a notification message directed to a mobile device, the notification message comprising a security token for use by the mobile device to establish a secure data channel over which to provide a voicemail greeting to the visual voicemail system,

sending the notification message to the mobile device,

receiving a request from the mobile device over the secure data channel established by the mobile device using the security token, the request comprising a voicemail greeting that was recorded at the mobile device, a network address for the visual voicemail system, and instructions to set the voicemail greeting as an active voicemail greeting for a voicemail account associated with the mobile device,

attempting to set the voicemail greeting as the active voicemail greeting for the voicemail account according to the instructions to set the voicemail greeting as the active voicemail greeting, and

generating a response to the request, the response comprising an indication of whether the voicemail greeting was set as the active voicemail greeting.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to set the recorded voicemail greeting as the active voicemail greeting for the voicemail account prior to generating the response to the request.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to, in receiving the request, receive a “

ChangeGreeting”

Hypertext Transfer Protocol request comprising the recorded voicemail greeting in a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions message body, and instructions to set the voicemail greeting as the active voicemail greeting for the voicemail account.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the notification message further comprises a hostname and a port number for the visual voicemail system.